Gracie Jiu-JItsu Monterey invites you to join us for our Women Empowered Class, taught every Wednesday at 6pm and Friday at 8am on Zoom. Learn essential Jiu-Jitsu techniques in the safety of your living room. No mats and no partners are necessary. If you're interested in trying out a class, please contact Gracie Jiu-Jitsu.

In this 15-lesson program, we'll teach you how to neutralize the 20 most common attacks ranging from having your hair grabbed to being pinned to the ground by a weapon-bearing assailant. Each one-hour Women Empowered lesson addresses two techniques. You can start the program at any time and participate in any class without previous experience. The techniques in the Women Empowered program employ leverage, technique, and timing, so anyone, regardless of age or athletic ability, can make them work against larger opponents.

Did you know that locally-owned Mattress Nation carries bedroom, dining room, and living room furniture in addition to mattresses? Whether you recently moved, need to update, or are ready for a change, you can view their selection of furniture on their website.

Mattress Nation is located at 296 Lighthouse Avenue in Monterey.

You can't go to the gym, but you can exercise your mind! Sovino Wine Bar's Trivia Night is now being held remotely every Monday at 7pm via Zoom and Classmarker.com. To play, please visit our website and purchase "Trivia" to receive the necessary links. For the game on July 27, the $10 fee will be waived when you make a purchase from Sovino's online wine and beer store. Please pay in advance and join in the fun!

Are you a cook, dishwasher, or sous chef who has lost your job because of a restaurant closure during the coronavirus pandemic? You can apply for assistance here from the Covid-19 Relief Fund from the Monterey Bay Chapter of the American Culinary Federation. You must show proof that you were employed in Monterey County for at least 6 months. Relief can be provided to your PayPal account or by check to ensure that you have access to basic necessities (food, housing, transportation, etc.).

Want to donate to the Covid-19 Relief Fund? Please click here. The Monterey Bay Chapter of the ACF is donating a dollar-for-dollar match, up to $6,000.

Are you a cook, dishwasher, or sous chef who has lost your job because of a restaurant closure during the coronavirus pandemic? You can apply for assistance here from the Covid-19 Relief Fund from the Monterey Bay Chapter of the American Culinary Federation. You must show proof that you were employed in Monterey County for at least 6 months. Relief can be provided to your PayPal account or by check to ensure that you have access to basic necessities (food, housing, transportation, etc.).

Want to donate to the Covid-19 Relief Fund? Please click here. The Monterey Bay Chapter of the ACF is donating a dollar-for-dollar match, up to $6,000.

Shelley Bennett Skincare is holding a donation drive for Community Homeless Solutions Women's Shelterthrough the month of July. For each grocery bag-sized donation of women's and children's clothes, household items, and/or toys that day, Shelley Bennett will give you 5 raffle tickets.

At the end of the drive, Shelley will be holding a raffle for 5 tote bags filled with skincare products! Please email Shelley for an appointment to drive up and drop off your donation at the shop, 588 Houston Street in Downtown Old Monterey. She'll contact the raffle winners on August 1.

From now through July 31, enjoy 15% off any purchase of $50 or more at Shelley Bennett Skincare's online store. Use code: community.

Community Homeless Solutions is Monterey County’s largest provider of homeless transitional housing and emergency shelter beds, including shelter for women and children fleeing domestic violence.

At Om Studios, located at 631 Cass Street in Downtown Old Monterey, we hold each student and their unique healing journey as sacred. We are committed to walking our talk, and inspiring our community to take better care of their bodies, emotional needs, and nervous systems so they can live a life of meaning and purpose. Our studio doors are temporarily closed because of Covid-19, but there are still opportunities available both online and outdoors.

ON-DEMAND VIRTUAL CLASSES
Our on-demand virtual studio offers yoga, barre, and mat Pilates classes in in a variety of lengths. Whether you are a newbie, experienced practitioner, or looking to gain more flexibility or strength, our vast library of videos will help you reach your goals anytime and anywhere. You're invited to try it for free for 7 days - please register on our website.

OUTDOOR YOGA CLASSES
We are thrilled to offer outdoor classes at Jewell Park in Pacific Grove. This park has a huge grassy space for us to physically distance and flow together.

Bring your mat and wear layers. Space is limited to 10 students and you must register in advance online. Wear your mask upon arrival. You can use your current class card, your Om Studios membership, or you can take one class at a time for $15.

Union Yoga is way more than a studio. Our location at 244 Pearl Street in Downtown Old Monterey can feel like a home, but it's the people who walk through the door that make Union the community that it is.

While we shelter in place, there are ways to continue to maintain our community and we invite you to join in, just as you stepped into yoga for the first time. Now more than ever, we need connection for physical and mental health, whether online or in person.

We are now fervently looking for an outdoor venue that can be used on a regular and on-going basis. Until then, classes are:

ON YOUR COMPUTER
We are offering a range of yoga classes seven days a week via Zoom, including Foundations Yoga, Flow Yoga, and Yin Yoga. You can take an unlimited number of streaming classes each month for $65. Register in advance online.

Instructors include Kelli Gray (Nairn), Rebekah Cordell, Annie Peterson, Daysha Hampton, and Michael Simpson.

ON THE BEACH
We meet Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays, 9am-10am, on the beach at the Monterey Tides Hotel for an all-level yoga flow class taught by Kelli or Rebekah Cordell. Yogi Bekah joins with her harmonium on Saturday and some Sunday mornings. Advance registration is required.

Bring your mat or a beach towel. Wearing a mask to the practice is recommended, but it's not required during the practice. We will space mats at least 6 feet apart.

ON YOUR PATIO
Many of our Union teachers offer one-on-one or private group classes. If you would like private lessons or have a group of friends or family members who love and miss yoga classes, you can gather for one-time or recurring classes on your patio or at a local (approved) park, maintaining physical distance and still connecting with each other.

These classes are customized to help you reach new depths within your practice. Depending on the group size, classes may cost close to a regular class rate. Please send us an email for more information.

Please note: private classes are for you to continue practicing while supporting individual teachers. Union Yoga is otherwise unaffiliated with these sessions. All sessions should adhere to state health requirements.

Want to send some really good California wine to Grandma Agnes is Florida or Uncle Lou in Oregon? Take advantage of Puma Road's flat rate $10 shipping promotion! That's right, purchase Puma Road wine on our website and we'll ship it for a flat rate of $10. We don’t ship to every state yet, but right now we do ship to: AZ, CA, CO, FL, IL, MD, MN, MO, MT, NC, NM, NY, OR, TX, VA, and WA.

Puma Road Wine Tasting is located at 281 Alvarado Street in Downtown Old Monterey.

Cha-ya Japanese Tea and Things is holding a Japanese antique trunk show for three days only, July 23-25, 11am-4pm. We'll be showcasing all new items from three private collections! Cha-ya is located at 118 Webster Street in Downtown Old Monterey.

The Monterey County Film Commission board of directors has elected officers for the 2020-21 fiscal year. Gary Bolen will serve as president, with Cheryl Savage as vice president, Julia Avery-Shapiro as secretary, and Sandi Austin, treasurer. Former board president Garland Thompson will serve as the board chairperson.

Bolen, a SAG actor and the retired chair of the Monterey Peninsula College Theater Department, has been a board member for more than three years, and previously served as vice president. He lives in Oak Hills in north Monterey County.

The film commission, which has an office in New Monterey's Lighthouse District, works to boost the economy throughout Monterey County by attracting and assisting on-location film production, handling inquiries and making referrals to crew and local goods and services. Each year an average of $4 million in revenue comes to local communities from more than 100 productions filming throughout the county.

The board is seeking additional volunteer board members with nonprofit or business experience from all parts of Monterey County, especially the Salinas Valley area. For more information, visit our website or call 831-646-0910.

The Library needs your support now more than ever before. As a result of the economic fallout from Covid-19, their funding has been drastically reduced. If you have the ability, you can assist by making a donation to the non-profit Monterey Public Library Friends & Foundation. The Friends & Foundation helps fund new materials, programs, and services that will keep the library a vibrant place to learn and grow.

Historically, the Monterey Public Library has been supported by $3 million each year from the City of Monterey's General Fund. Because of the Covid-19 pandemic's impact on hotel tax, sales tax, and other revenue, the City is projecting a deficit of $31 million over the next two years.

Despite these economic challenges, the City will continue to support the Library's core mission with services such as curbside pickup. However, the City cannot currently afford to fund the Library at the same level that it has provided in the past. Without the help of customers and private partners, library hours, new materials, and programs will remain drastically reduced.

Your friendly neighborhood bar, Pearl Hour, is now a mobile bottle shop and cocktail kit delivery service again, Thursday - Sunday. (We also sell non-alcoholic drink mixes.) Let us know what we can put together for you! There's no minimum for delivery - to order, just text us at 831-229-4132, message us on Instagram, or use our online order form and it will be delivered the next day.

Thank you for supporting and loving our new business during the first closure and launch as a bottle delivery service, during our 3 days back open as a neighborhood bar during a pandemic, and from now until we're permitted to open the doors of the bar again at 214 Lighthouse Avenue in Monterey.

Play Full Ground has received multiple inquiries about our sardine pillows (#happymontereysardines) lately, so here are some answers to your questions, my friends!

Do you sell the sardine pillows?
Yes! They come in 3 sizes: small ($30), medium ($50), and large ($80). Please visit the Support page on our website for more information.

Do you ship?
Yes! We ship within the U.S. (unless you are willing to pay for the expensive international shipping or secret inexpensive global shipping...please let us know!)

For the U.S. shipping, we use USPS 1-2 day flat rate for the small/medium pillows. For the large pillows, we use other carriers and it takes 3-7 days. (It’s not so cheap as sardines are bulky and we are a small business without a lot of shipping, so we don't get a big discount. Sorry! If you have any inexpensive shipping tips, please share them with us - we love to learn.)

Can I pick up my sardines?
Yes. Play Full Ground is currently closed for walk-in business, but we can arrange your pickup at the studio at 550 Lighthouse Avenue, Suite. E, in Monterey.

Do you deliver?
Maybe...depending on the place! If it's somewhere between Pacific Grove and Marina (and Carmel...maybe Carmel Valley)...the answer is yes and it's free.

Which types of payment do you take?
We accept payment by credit card on our website. We also have accounts with PayPal (hello@playfullground.com) and Venmo (@playfullground) if these are more convenient for you. Also, you can pay with cash or check upon your pick up at Play Full Ground.

Can I have a sardine pillow right now?
I, Play Full Ground owner Mai Ryuno, make your sardines to order to share happiness, joy, and creativity with you! Please allow me a few days to make your sardine pillows before sending them to you.

How can I contact you?
Please feel free to email me if you have questions that are not answered here. Thank you all for your love and support!